Central’s comeback falls short in Sidney Cooper Invitational

Speed got the Central Lady Red Devils in trouble against Handley on Saturday. If it had not been for time, speed may have ultimately bailed them out.

Central fell to Handley 9-6 in the Sidney Cooper Invitational’s Round of 16 game. The Lady Red Devils fell behind 9-0 due in part to Handley’s quick baserunners but closed the gap in the final two innings with their own agile players.

“Early in the year, we want to play the best teams we could play,” Central head coach Mitchell Holt said. “I was very proud of our team. They battled back. I told them to play like they were up 9-0, and that’s exactly what they did.”

With a near double-digit deficit to deal with, Central fired up its offense in the top of the third inning.

Shelby Newsome and Kyleigh McHargue hit RBI singles, with McHargue’s hit scoring two Lady Red Devils. Alexa Shiver tacked on another run with a sacrifice fly. A throwing error following Shiver’s flyout made it 9-5.

Newsome wasn’t done there, adding another RBI single in the top of the fourth. However, the team’s threat ended during the next at-bat, as Handley turned a double play to end the inning.

The game was then called due to the time limit.

Central’s scoring on so many singles came thanks to its speed. Several of the team’s hits came via bunts, as multiple Lady Red Devils reached base by legging out soft bunts.

“We are blessed to have a team that can run,” Holt said. “The short game was available and we executed to get back in the game. We pride ourselves on speed.”

Handley’s agility as a team had Central struggling off the bat.

Handley bunted again and again in the first inning and put pressure on the Central defense to make a mistake. It happened with a throwing error shortly after Handley first took the lead. By inning’s end, it was a 5-0 game.

Handley tacked on four more runs on a grand slam by Morgan Whalev in the top of the second.

Central moves on to a consolation game at 2:00 on Saturday. For Holt, he wants his team to start their second game of the day the way they finished the first.

“I’m not worried about what’s happened,” Holt said. “We just have to respond. I want to see how we respond to a poor two innings. So far, we’ve responded very, very well.”

This story was originally published February 25, 2017 at 2:10 PM with the headline "Central’s comeback falls short in Sidney Cooper Invitational."